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Photography vocabulary · Printing

Test print

Meaning in photography, with examples

nounCommon term

In photography, test print means: A small or partial print made before the final one to check the colors, brightness, sharpness and choice of paper.

In Turkish: deneme baskısı, test baskı, prova baskı

How it is used

Common in fine art and exhibition printing. Prints often come out darker than they look on screen, so photographers make a test print, adjust the file and print again. Labs and publishers use the similar word proof.

Example sentences

  1. The test print is too dark; let's brighten the file by half a stop.

  2. Always order a test print before you print the whole exhibition.

Common collocations

  • make a test print
  • order a test print
  • test print strip
  • compare test prints
  • printA photograph produced on paper or another material, such as canvas or metal, from a digital file or a negative.
  • color spaceA defined range of colors that an image file, screen or printer can use, such as sRGB, Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB.
  • matteHaving a smooth surface that is not shiny and does not reflect much light. Used for photo papers, finishes and laminates.
  • DPIShort for dots per inch: the number of ink dots a printer places in one inch. It is often used loosely to mean PPI (pixels per inch).

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